


Cup of Tea

by ikuzonos



Category: Dangan Ronpa, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Birthday, F/F, Fluff and Angst, No Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-15 14:40:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11808033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ikuzonos/pseuds/ikuzonos
Summary: It rains on Tsumugi Shirogane's birthday.





	Cup of Tea

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY TSUMUGI I LOVE YOU

Rain splattered down on the flower box that rested just outside her window. From her seat at the kitchen table, all Tsumugi Shirogane could see was the grey expanse in the sky.

Not that it was much of a surprise. Even though it was the middle of August, it always rained on her birthday. That was yet another fact of her boring life that she was forced to get used to.

She wasn’t a special person. Her biggest accomplishments including being an exceptional seamstress in regards to her age, but that hadn’t gotten her far. In her high-school, she had been ignored at best.

After graduation, very few of her dear classmates had kept in touch. They had all stood around on that day, promising to call all the time, all of which were empty words.

Some of the nicer people - namely Kaede and Kiibo - had sent occasional emails and texts, and Amami - likely due to the fact that they were childhood friends - would visit every once in awhile, but besides that, Shirogane was always on her own.

Her teacup rattled in its saucer. With shaky hands, Shirogane reached down and brought the cracked china to her lips, lightly tilting it so that she could suck back the hot liquid within.

With time, her hands stilled, but she still felt uneasy. Her stomach churned, and she bit the inside of her lip. She couldn’t figure out why felt sick, though she hadn’t consumed anything but tea for the last three days, so maybe that was a part of it.

“Happy birthday to me,” she mumbled, scooting away from the table. It was already late afternoon, so maybe in a bit, she could order take-out and then go to the corner store and get some kind of treat. Of course, that required being able to speak to someone on the phone, and then talking to a cashier, and in between, there was the delivery person.

Maybe she would just go hungry again. That would be simpler, and it’s not like she  _ needed _ food, really. If it came down to it, there were some stale pretzels in the cupboard, and lots of tea.

She had never run out of tea.

Shirogane gripped the edge of her counter, closing her eyes and tightening the muscles in her feet. Veiled only by thin tights, she dug her toes into the cold tile, wondering if that would make her disappear.

_ You are alone, you always have been and you always will be.  _

How melodramatic would it be if she was to die on her own birthday?

The doorbell rang.

Shirogane spun around on her heels, her hair whipping behind her. There was no reason for anyone to be at the door, unless she ordered curry while disassociating again. Maybe it was the landlord, informing her that he’s raising the rent again. Or that he was evicting her.

She closed her fists.

The doorbell went off again, and was then followed by a series of knocks. Shirogane gulped, then slinked to the door, terrified of who was on the other side. If it was Amami, he would have called beforehand to let her know, and she didn’t have any other friends.

She opened it just a crack, then all the way at the realization that it was not the landlord. No, in fact it was a woman her age, though much shorter. Shirogane raised an eyebrow, recognizing her from somewhere, before it hit.

Maki Harukawa, the class edgelord, was standing on her doorstep, sopping wet.

“Harukawa-san?” Shirogane asked, tilting her head in confusion. She hadn’t heard from Maki since graduation, and she couldn’t fathom why she was now in front of her, holding a cardboard box under her arm.

Maki waved with her free hand, “Hi. May I come in?”

Shirogane nodded quickly and moved out of the way, allowing her former classmate inside. As soon as the door was closed again, Shirogane realized how messy her apartment had become, and quickly lied, “Er, sorry. You caught me in the midst of cleaning.”

Maki replied, “Oh… I see. I’m sorry that I missed everyone, then.”

Shirogane blinked, “Er… What? You’re the first person I’ve seen today.”

Actually, the first person all week, but Shirogane decided that was not something she needed to unload onto Maki.

The dark haired girl said, “In that case, I’m sorry for showing up so early. There wasn’t a time listed, so I kind of guessed.”

Shirogane waited a moment, watching as Maki placed the box on her counter, then asked, “Harukawa-san? Not to be rude, but why are you here?”

Maki turned, then said, “Because it’s your birthday? August fifteenth, right?”

“Yes, but-”

Maki continued, “It took me forever to get your address out of Amami, and he gave almost no details about the party, so it’s a miracle that I’m here at all, really.”

Shirogane paused, “...What are you talking about?”

Maki reached into her coat pocket, produced her phone, and turned it around to face Shirogane. On the display was an email dated the previous day, from ‘avocadokun@inlook.com’.

_ Hello, Harukawa-san! Tomorrow is Shirogane-chan’s birthday, and since I’m out of town, I was wondering if you’d be up to heading over to her apartment for a party! The entire class will be there. Let me know right away! - Amami. _

“What?” Shirogane mumbled, “I had no idea…”

Maki stuffed her phone back in her pocket, “That’s peculiar. Well… I’m here now, so unless you’re particularly busy, I could stay for some time.”

Shirogane cracked a smile, “That would be really great! If, er, you don’t mind. Would you like me to get you something? I have tea… and tea.”

“Tea would be lovely,” Maki responded, sitting down at the kitchen table.

Shirogane hurried over the stove, turning on the heat under the kettle. One the water was close to boiling, she poured it into one of her nicer teacups, then brought it over and placed it in front of Maki.

The dark haired girl said, “Thank you very much.”

Shirogane slipped into the chair she had been in before, and took a sip of her own tea. It had gotten lukewarm in the time it had taken for her to prepare the other cup, but she didn’t really mind.

They drank quietly, occasionally exchanging a small quip. Still, despite the almost silence, it was exhilarating to have someone in close proximity to her, someone who visited out of their own volition, instead of obligation.

“May I ask what’s in the box?” Shirogane asked suddenly, as Maki placed her empty cup down on the saucer.

“I… brought a cake,” Maki admitted, “It’s not in the greatest shape, since I had to take it on the bus, and it didn’t turn out well when I iced it, but…”

Shirogane smiled warmly, “I really appreciate it. It means a lot that you’re here, actually.”

Maki shrugged, “I didn’t mean to lose contact with you, and I felt bad about not trying to reach out. You… were always nice to me, for some reason, back in school.”

Shirogane replied, “You seemed like a good person. I really wanted to be your friend, but I was too scared to really connect with you.”

Maki’s eyes widened. She took a moment before she spoke again, “I… I wanted to be your friend too. But I didn’t know how to go around it.”

Shirogane laughed quietly. Secretly, she wanted something more than friendship too, but there was no way that she would ever admit that to Maki.

Maybe, though, maybe this could be the start of something.

“How about we cut the cake?”

“Sounds like a good idea to me.”

Maybe there was a chance for them after all, to make up for all the lost years. Shirogane hoped so, at least. She wanted to see Maki smile, even just once.


End file.
